Queen Elizabeth II will host the UK’s next prime minister at Balmoral instead of Buckingham Palace – a historic first for her 70-year reign.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said the 96-year-old monarch will not be making the roughly 1,600km round trip from Scotland and instead outgoing leader Boris Johnson will travel to North Wales. London on 6 September, followed by an audience with his successor.
The decision was made for hearings to take place at Balmoral in order to provide certainty for the prime minister’s agenda, a royal source told CNN .
The source added that if the monarch was experiencing an episodic mobility issue next week and the plan was to travel to London or Windsor, it would mean alternative arrangements being made at the last minute.
Johnson had little choice but to step down as leader of the Conservative Party in early July after months of scandals that rocked his government and led to dozens of ministerial resignations. His announcement sparked a leadership contest that saw a broad field of candidates reduced to two: Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and former Foreign Minister Rishi Sunak.
The duo spent the summer trying to please 160,000 party members. The result of this vote will be announced on Monday (5).
As leader of the largest party in Parliament, the winner will be invited by the Queen to form the next government and become her 15th prime minister.
The appointment of a new prime minister is one of the Queen’s main ceremonial responsibilities as head of state – with others being the state opening of parliament and the signing of parliamentary bills. In May, Prince Charles and William took center stage at the grand event, with the heir to the throne reading out the government’s legislative agenda for the coming year on behalf of his mother.
It was the first time the Queen had missed the event in 59 years. The palace cited the monarch’s “episodic mobility problems” but declined to release further details citing patient confidentiality. These ongoing problems, which she has faced for nearly a year since a brief hospital stay last October, have also hampered other occasions, including the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
The ceremony next week will be the first time a prime minister has officially tendered his resignation or been appointed outside Buckingham Palace during the Queen’s seven decades on the throne.
Several events over the past 12 months have been modified for the Queen’s “comfort”, with one of the most recent examples being her arrival at Balmoral Castle earlier this month. The moment is traditionally marked by an honor guard at the gates of the 50,000-acre estate, but this year’s troop inspection was conducted in private.
Source: CNN Brasil
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